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To date, the application of semantic network methodologies to study cognitive processes in psychological phenomena has been limited in scope. One barrier to broader application is the lack of resources for researchers unfamiliar with the approach. Another barrier, for both the unfamiliar and knowledgeable researcher, is the tedious and laborious preprocessing of semantic data. We aim to minimize these barriers by offering a comprehensive semantic network analysis pipeline (preprocessing, estimating, and analyzing networks), and an associated R tutorial that uses a suite of R packages to accommodate the pipeline. Two of these packages, SemNetDictionaries and SemNetCleaner, promote an efficient, reproducible, and transparent approach to preprocessing linguistic data. The third package, SemNeT, provides methods and measures for estimating and statistically comparing semantic networks via a point-and-click graphical user interface. Using real-world data, we present a start-to-finish pipeline from raw data to semantic network analysis results. This article aims to provide resources for researchers, both the unfamiliar and knowledgeable, that reduce some of the barriers for conducting semantic network analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory graph analysis (EGA) is a new technique that was recently proposed within the framework of network psychometrics to estimate the number of factors underlying multivariate data. Unlike other methods, EGA produces a visual guide--network plot--that not only indicates the number of dimensions to retain, but also which items cluster together and their level of association. Although previous studies have found EGA to be superior to traditional methods, they are limited in the conditions considered. These issues are addressed through an extensive simulation study that incorporates a wide range of plausible structures that may be found in practice, including continuous and dichotomous data, and unidimensional and multidimensional structures. Additionally, two new EGA techniques are presented: one that extends EGA to also deal with unidimensional structures, and the other based on the triangulated maximally filtered graph approach (EGAtmfg). Both EGA techniques are compared with 5 widely used factor analytic techniques. Overall, EGA and EGAtmfg are found to perform as well as the most accurate traditional method, parallel analysis, and to produce the best large-sample properties of all the methods evaluated. To facilitate the use and application of EGA, we present a straightforward R tutorial on how to apply and interpret EGA, using scores from a well-known psychological instrument: the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do people come up with humorous ideas? In creative cognition research, exposure to good examples sometimes causes fixation (people get "stuck" on the examples) but other times sparks inspiration (people's responses are more creative). The present research examined the effects of funny and unfunny examples on joke production. A sample of 175 adults read scenarios that they completed with funny responses. All participants were instructed to be funny, but before responding they read (a) funny responses as examples of good responses to emulate, (b) unfunny responses as examples of poor responses to avoid, or (c) no examples. The participants' own responses were rated for funniness and for similarity to the example responses, and response times were recorded. Reading either funny or unfunny examples, compared to no examples, caused people to come up with funnier jokes. Similarity to the examples was low in all conditions, so fixation was relatively modest, but people who saw unfunny examples spent more time coming up with their responses. Taken together, the findings support the growing literature showing that examples are often inspiring rather than constraining, and they imply that good and bad examples spark creative thought via different paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeling like crying is a common response to music. Recent work suggests two forms of aesthetic crying: an awe-inspired, positive kind and a distressed, sad kind. Besides their emotional tone, what differentiates these experiences? The present research examined the context and subjective musical content of aesthetic crying. A sample of 961 adults described the emotional tone, musical features, and social and environmental contexts of a feeling like crying experience. Awe experiences more often involved religious or classical music that was complex and beautiful, and people were often with others and hearing the music live. Sad experiences more often involved popular genres (e.g., Pop, Soul or R&B, Country) that were cold and unpleasant, and people often noted that the music reminded them of someone or that they already felt like crying before listening to the music. The distinctions between these two kinds of experiences suggest that current theories of aesthetic crying could be fruitfully expanded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers in the evolutionary aesthetics tradition have suggested that people prefer shiny objects because glossiness connotes water. We consider some methodological issues in past research and present an experiment that manipulated the glossiness of metal objects. Young adults (n = 134) viewed silver coins that were either dull or in “brilliant uncirculated” condition as well as copper cylinders that were either rough and tarnished, polished with a brushed surface, or polished with a mirror finish. Ratings of attractiveness showed that people preferred the shiny over the tarnished coin and the glossy copper bar over the tarnished and brushed ones. These effects were not simply due to perceived quality or implied effort. The findings demonstrate that, after many potential confounds have been avoided or controlled for, people do seem to have a thing for bling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Employed network science to analyze semantic memory structures related to convergent thinking and problem-solving styles on Remote Associates Test. • High-convergent thinkers had more flexible, interconnected networks; insight solvers showed shorter path distances between concepts, controlling for accuracy. • Semantic memory organization is crucial for convergent thinking and insight problem solving, beyond accuracy. The associative theory of creativity has long held that creative thinking involves connecting remote concepts in semantic memory. Network science tools have recently been applied to map the organization of concepts in semantic memory, and to study the link between semantic memory and creativity. Yet such work has largely overlooked the domain of convergent thinking, despite the theoretical importance of semantic memory networks for facilitating associative processes relevant for convergent problem solving (e.g., spreading activation). Convergent thinking problems, such as the Compound Remote Associates (CRA) test, can be solved with insight (the sudden "aha" experience) or analysis (deliberately and incrementally working towards the solution). In a sample of 477 participants, we adopted network science methods to compare semantic memory structure across two grouping variables: 1) convergent thinking ability (i.e., CRA accuracy), and 2) the self-reported tendency to solve problems with insight or analysis. Semantic memory networks were constructed from a semantic fluency task, and problem solving style (insight or analysis) was determined from judgments provided during solving of CRAs. We found that, compared to the low-convergent thinking group, the high-convergent thinking group exhibited a more flexible and interconnected semantic network—with short paths and many connections between concepts. Moreover, participants who primarily solved problems with insight (compared to analysis) showed shorter average path distances between concepts, even after controlling for accuracy. Our results extend the literature on semantic memory and creativity, and suggest that the organization of semantic memory plays a key role in convergent thinking, including insight problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work on the aesthetics of the built and natural environment has shown that aesthetic responses are derived from three interrelated psychological dimensions: Fascination (an environment's richness or interest), Coherence (analytic judgments about an environment's organization and construction), and Hominess (feelings of warmth or coziness). However, it is also well-established that individuals differ widely in their responses to environments and objects. In particular, training in the arts has been reliably shown to influence people's aesthetic experiences. Here, we investigated the extent to which expertise in architecture and design influenced responses and preferences to the natural and built environment. Across three studies, we found that the underlying psychological dimensions of Experts and Novices are qualitatively different. We further hypothesized that expertise in architecture renders design features of the environment to be more emotionally and aesthetically pleasing. Consistent with this hypothesis, the Coherence dimension of architecture Experts was more strongly associated with Fascination and Hominess criteria, and had a greater influence on their overall aesthetic experience. Additionally, our findings provide evidence of expertise effects for both rapid and deliberate judgements. In sum, the present study extends a growing body of research on the underlying psychological dimensions of aesthetic experiences of the environment, demonstrating that expertise affects the interrelatedness of these dimensions. • Responses to natural and built environments reduce to a few psychological dimensions. • Underlying psychological dimensions differ for architecture experts and novices. • Expertise exerts "bottom-up" and "top-down" influences on aesthetic experience. • Coherence more relevant to overall aesthetic experience of experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People frequently form aesthetic judgements of built and natural environments. Identifying psychological responses induced by one's surroundings – as well as differences across contexts – is necessary to better access salubrious qualities of different natural and built environments. Here, we tested two primary hypotheses about responses to exterior architecture and natural landscapes. First, aesthetic responses to built and natural environments reduce to a few underlying psychological dimensions. Second, we hypothesized greater consistency in aesthetic appraisals to natural than built environments. Using techniques from network science, we found that responses to images of exterior architecture and natural landscapes were derived from three psychological dimensions: Fascination (a scene's richness and interest), Coherence (analytic judgements about a scene's organization and construction), and Hominess (feelings of warmth or coziness). Notably, however, subsequent exploratory analyses indicated some differences in psychological responses across contexts. For example, Hominess was associated with greater naturalness for the built environments, but homier natural landscapes were more ordered. We also found less variability in responses to natural landscapes, consistent with our second hypothesis. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that Fascination, Coherence, and Hominess are broadly applicable aesthetic experiences induced by one's surrounding environment. Moreover, human beings may show more agreement for natural stimuli than for artifacts of human culture. • Responses to natural and built environments reduce to a few psychological dimensions. • Coherence, Fascination, and Hominess applicable to built and natural settings. • Between-subject agreement of aesthetic qualities greater for natural environments. • Analytic aesthetic judgements may generalize across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sampling of cranial fragments for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis is a common practice for identification of skeletonized human remains. The Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) and Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command – Central Identification Laboratory (JPAC-CIL) work in concert to identify the remains of US service members killed in past military conflicts. When dealing with samples taken from remains that are commingled or lack a secure archaeological context, multiple elements must be sampled from the same burial or case. In such cases, the cranium is often fragmentary. Previous work examined the success rate of approximately 4000 skeletal elements for sequencing of mtDNA. The approximately 50% success of the crania seemed anomalous considering the frequency with which they are sampled. Subsequent studies of the 558 cranial fragments tested from 1992 to August 2009 were done to examine the independent rates of success of the portions of the skull. It was found that each yielded reportable mtDNA sequence at rates that exhibited statistically significant differences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]